'Pioneer of Diversity' to visit, lecture on campus next week
Frances Kendall
Author, educator, and organizational consultant Frances Kendall will give a presentation titled "What Will Move Us to Act? Understanding and Interrupting Bias in Our Community" at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall.
Admission is free and open to the public.
The lecture is part of Kendall's two-day Skidmore visit in which she will consult with campus leaders (students and staff), as well as the Bias Response Group, the Committee on Intercultural and Global Understanding, and the Student Affairs and Academic Affairs staffs. Kendall has focused for more than 35 years on organizational change, diversity, and white privilege. Author of Diversity in the Classroom and Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race, Kendall was recently named a "Pioneer of Diversity" by Profiles in Diversity Journal.
Kendall is committed to facilitating the core changes necessary to create work and
learning environments that are hospitable to all people. She doesn't skirt the deeper
challenges inherent in helping organizations accomplish that mission, yet she approaches
the conversations with warmth and humor in an accessible and approachable manner.
One of her long-time clients recently described her style as that of a "seasoned warrior,
bringing her experience and wisdom to her interactions with audiences and workshop
participants."
Her clients have included educational institutions (colleges, universities, and K-12
schools), corporations, and not-for-profits. In the last 10 years, she has focused
on offering workshops and delivering keynote addresses on facilitating and creating
intentional organizational change, addressing issues of diversity in organizations;
and aiding white people in understanding the impact of their skin color in systemically
providing opportunities and privileges not granted to others.
In addition to speaking and facilitating workshops, Kendall consults with institutions' senior leaders, implements climate surveys for organizations, and assists them in developing strategic plans and initiatives to achieve the type of institutions they envision.
Kendall received an M.S. degree from Bank Street College of Education and a Ph.D. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
